Austin: march Against Hate in Support of Gay Men Attacked

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Melanie Nathan> 3/1/10 . On Feb. 20 Winston and Matthew Morgan were walking to a City Hall parking garage from Oilcan Harry’s when attacked by four men who had followed them. While prosecutors still decide if the assault qualifies as a hate crime, one hundred marchers retraced the steps from that night, in support of the victims, chanting slogans that insist this indeed a hate crime.

Hundreds of people from all walks of life march in support of the gay men who were attacked in downtown Austin the weekend before last. Retracing the very path of the men who were attacked, the crowd chanted slogans pointing to their

At the time Winston and Morgan were wearing jerseys from the “Shady Ladies,” a gay softball league, and while being attacked the four used slurs about their sexual orientation. Surely also when attacked by as many as four – the Police should be looking at Hate crimes as well as gang laws that carry harsher and appropriate sentences.

Police Chief Art Acevedo attended the rally Saturday and said police were still investigating the attack and that it will be up to prosecutors to decide whether there is enough evidence to charge the suspects with a hate crime. I ask what could be better evidence than two victims, under oath, re-iterating the slurs yelled at them while under attack.

Sarah Coppola of AMERICAN-STATESMAN: Jeff Butler, the head coach of the softball team and an organizer of the rally, said the incident was a hate crime. “I understand due process, but I’m not going to tiptoe around that (phrase),” he said. The victims, he added, have shown “character, drive, courage and resolve. … They refused to allow the attackers to control their lives. They were not going to allow this injustice to go unchecked.”

Austin’s reputation for inclusiveness and tolerance, has been shattered, reports Coppola . March attendee Kindell Badgley, 55. “This (attack) shouldn’t have happened here. Austin has always had a ‘live and let live’ attitude and we’d like to keep it that way,” he said. “Everyone has a right to walk down a city street and feel safe.”

Melanie Nathan

Posted by Melanie Nathan
Based on Article by Sarah Coppola
nathan@privatecourts.com
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Civil Rights and Human Rights Advocate;
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